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Ex-LA Galaxy Players Magee and Ricketts Win MLS Awards underscoring importance of their loss to club

Galaxy guy: Mike Magee, named MLS MVL today, in his days with the LA Galaxy (AP Photo).

With former Galaxy striker Mike Magee winning the MLS MVP award today and former Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts being named the league’s best in his position, the twin announcements beg the question: how much did the absence of these two players affect the team’s chances of winning a third MLS Cup?

Pretty significant you have to say.

The Galaxy had problems not only finding the back of the net, but penetrating opposing back lines period after Magee left for the Chicago Fire last season in the trade that brought Robbie Rogers to the Galaxy.

Magee scored a half dozen goals for the Galaxy before the trade and still ended up as the team’s third highest scorer. He added another 15 with the Fire to end the year with 21 goals, triple his previous career high.

Meanwhile, the absence of the Galaxy’s goal tight defense this season was in large measure attributed to a lack of consistency between the posts since Donovan Ricketts’ 2011 departure to Montreal. Replacement Carlo Cudicini was a failure despite sterling EPL credentials and things were only belatedly shored up by the late-season arrival of Panamanian Jame Penedo.

Now granted the Galaxy won consecutive MLS Cups without Ricketts between the posts, but you could argue that was in spite of not having an outstanding goalkeeper rather than having one and in 2013 things caught up with the Galaxy not only with its loose defense, but because of the loss of Magee up front.

The two best goalies of the past five years for the Galaxy: Ricketts and Magee!

Yes, the G’s won that 2011 Cup without Ricketts, but only because Lenhart broke his arm.

What more to say about Magee? Thrilled that he’s won the MVP, sad that he didn’t win it with the G’s.

Inigo Montoya

My bad. Khari Stephenson broke fellow Jamaican Ricketts’ arm. Lenhart drew the red card from Saunders that got him thrown out of that same game just before half, leading to Mike Magee’s brilliant goal-keeping display.

sods up

I can live without the oft injured glass-jaw Ricketty Ricketts. The Galaxy goalkeeping woes goes back to the time they got read of Kevin Hartman and had to struggle with a succession of mediocre goalkeepers while he continued his stellar play elsewhere in the league. As a matter of fact Hartman should have been brought back to the team last year so he could have finished his career here instead of wasting all that money on Cudoccini.

What I can’t live with is the trade of Magee in the middle of season. Shear suicide by Arena and Klien. It still bothers me and it I will always consider it a blunder even if Rodgers all of a suddon becomes a soccer player. That trade ranks right up there with those of Hartman and Clint Mathis as the worst ever by the Galaxy.

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